Cerebrovascular accidents indicative of COVID-19 infection: about 4 observations in Guinea

Introduction: coronavirus is a virus with potential to target the nervous and respiratory systems. The aim of this work is to establish the prevalence of strokes in COVID19 positive patients in Guinea. Methods: all patients with stroke confirmed by brain imaging and COVID-positive PCR were included in this study. Retrospective patient data were obtained from medical records. Informed consent was obtained. Results: the RT-PCR confirmed the initial diagnosis and the chest CT scan provided a good diagnostic orientation. Brain imaging identified ischemic brain lesions. We report the case of four patients with stroke and a COVID-19 incidental finding in Guinea.Conclusion: this work shows that the onset of ischemic stroke associated with COVID-19 is generally delayed, but can occur both early and late in the course of the disease. More attention is needed because the early symptoms of viral attack are not just pulmonary

Interest of the thoracic scanner in the diagnosis of COVID-19: study of 35 cases in the Republic of Guinea

Introduction: the aim of this work is to evaluate the contribution of thoracic computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of COVID-19 in Guinea.Methods: this was a retrospective study with data recorded over a 2 Month period. Records of patients who tested positive on chest CT without contrast injection on admission were included in this study. Not included are those who did or did not perform a chest CT scan after confirmation of the diagnosis by RT-PCR. The data were collected under the direction of the National Health Security Agency (ANSS) and analysed using STATA/SE version 11.2 software.Results: all patients tested performed a chest CT scan without contrast injection while awaiting the RT-PCR test result. Eighty percent (80%) of patients had lesions characteristic of COVID-19 viral pneumonia on chest CT. The reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) test was later positive in 33 patients (94.28%) and negative in 2 (5.71%).Conclusion: it is noted from this study that chest computed tomography is a critical tool in the rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. Its systematization in all patients suspected in our dispute, would facilitate diagnosis while waiting for confirmation by RT-PCR and would limit the loss of cases